Eleven cardinals contribute to new book urging Synod to uphold Church teaching on marriage

Eleven cardinals, from all around the world, have contributed to a new book arguing against any substantive change in the Church’s teaching on marriage.

In Eleven Cardinals Speak on Marriage and Family, due for release by Ignatius Press on September 15, the prelates urge the Synod of Bishops to reinforce understanding of Christian marriage, and dismiss calls for allowing divorced and remarried Catholics to receive Communion.

In an excerpt from the forthcoming book, released by Catholic World Report, Nigerian Cardinal John Onaiyekan argues forcefully that recent revolutionary changes in the public understanding of marriage reflect “the strong influence of the evil one.” He writes:

Neither the great schism that gave rise to the Orthodox churches nor the Protestant Reformation that gave rise to the many Protestant churches tampered with the essential properties of marriage. All agreed that marriage is between a man and a woman, in unity and indissolubility. It is only recently that we have begun to see major shifts on the part of many Christian bodies. In the last couple of decades, it is as if a doctrinal earthquake had overtaken the Christian churches.
The contributors to the new book are: